One of every five internet display ads is viewed on a social networking website as Facebook and MySpace become responsible for a very large chunk of web ads, according to a new report from comScore.
The report reveals the increasing competition between social media sites and established internet companies such as Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL, which have long billed themselves as the top online destinations for brand advertisers.
The comScore study said social media sites represented 21.1 per cent of US internet display ads in July, with MySpace and Facebook accounting for more than 80 per cent of those ads.
Jeff Hackett, senior vice president of comScore, said, "Because the top social media sites can deliver high reach and frequency against target segments at a low cost, it appears that some advertisers are eager to use social networking sites as a new advertising delivery vehicle."
While social media sites have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years - Facebook is now the world's fourth-most visited website - some observers have questioned whether the sites can be effectively monetised.
Because the content on social media sites is created by users, and could therefore prove racy or offensive, some have questioned the willingness of marketers to place their brands alongside that content.
The price of placing ads on social networking sites is significantly less than on a web portal like Yahoo or AOL as the vast amount of web pages available on social networks means that advertisers can purchase a massive volume of ad impressions at bargain prices.
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